As reopening plans trickle out, parents prepare for school year

FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) — As school districts in South Carolina release their plans for the school year, parents are able to start planning for the months to come.

Several Pee Dee districts plan to rely heavily on remote and virtual learning to at least begin the school year.

Florence County School District Three, for instance, intends to go virtual through the first semester.

“I’m worried,” Rebecca McCutcheon, who has children in the district, said. “Especially with my 10th grader. Because I don’t want him to get behind.”

She worries that parents’ voices aren’t being heard and that some students may struggle with the virtual option.

“For my five year old, I was opting for the virtual,” she said. “Because I knew he wasn’t going to understand social distancing.”

“With my 15-year-old going to 10^th grade he’s like, ‘Mom I have to have a classroom setting,'” she said.

Others were concerned about getting to work while their kids learn remotely.

“I work full time, my husband works full time,” Marion County School District mom Joy Hardwick said. “Are we supposed to quit our jobs to stay at home to teach our kids?”

Jennifer Watson meanwhile was happy with Dillon Four’s decision to go remote until virus stats drop.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to send our kids back to school,” she said. “This virus is still hot right now. We’re seeing cases everyday.”

It seems that many other parents agree they don’t want their child in school. As of Thursday, 1,010 students had applied to Marion County’s Virtual Academy. 275 had applied at last check for Florence County School District Five.

The South Carolina Department of Education said Friday it has not approved any districts reopening plans yet.

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